Rolled floor heating mat using hydro

ABSTRACT

In a long hot water mat, straight parts ( 4   a ) of a hot water pipe ( 4 ) are laid lengthwise in a long mat body ( 2 ) and U-shaped turning parts ( 4   b ) of the hot water pipe are placed at locations near the opposite ends ( 2   b ) of the mat body ( 2 ). Slits ( 7 ) are formed at regular intervals in the lower surface of the mat body ( 2 ) so that the slits cross the mat body ( 2 ) in directions crossing the straight parts ( 4   a ) of the hot water pipe ( 4 ). The hot water mat having a heat dissipating sheet ( 6 ) thereon can be rolled from an end of the mat body ( 2 ), with the heat dissipating sheet being placed inward, due to the slits ( 7 ) so that the mat can be easily moved using an elevator or can be easily moved into a room while avoiding a reduction in the size of the mat.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates, in general, to a long folding hot watermat for floor heating which is laid on the floor of a room and heats theroom from the floor.

BACKGROUND ART

Hot water mats for floor heating are designed to be used so that one ormore mats having a predetermined size can be laid according to the sizeof the floor surface of a room.

A conventional hot water mat is problematic in that, when the hot watermat is moved to a building site or moved into a room after beingproduced in a factory, the mat may not enter an elevator or the roombecause the size of the mat is too big to pass through the narrowentrance of the elevator or the doorway leading to the room.

Therefore, to solve the problems experienced in the movement of the hotwater mat, a folding hot water mat that is designed to be moved withoutdifficulty has been proposed and used in the related art.

For example, a hot water mat disclosed in patent document 1 (Japanesepatent Laid-open Publication No. 2000-65365) is configured so that slitsare formed in the lower surface of the hot water mat in parallel towidth support bars that are embedded in the hot water mat, and the matcan be folded at the slits.

However, this mat is problematic in that the width support bars made ofwood cannot be folded so that the reduction in the size of the foldedmat is limited.

To solve the problem, a hot water mat, in which two hot water mats areconnected to each other in a direction of the length of the widthsupport bars so that the two mats can be folded at the connectedjunction, is proposed in patent document 2 (Japanese patent Laid-openPublication No. 2010-38390).

However, the hot water mat disclosed in patent document 2 is problematicin that, although the two hot water mats are laid side by side and areconnected to each other so that the two mats can be folded at theconnected junction, it is impossible to reduce the size of the two hotwater mats in the direction of the length of the width support bars ofeach mat in the same manner as in patent document 1 in which one mat isfolded.

Further, even in a hot water mat having no width support bar, foldingslits are formed in parallel to a hot water pipe as disclosed in patentdocument 3 (Japanese patent Laid-open Publication No. 2010-216727).

As described above, in the conventional hot water mats, the reduction inthe size of the folded mat is limited so that when the floor is alarge-sized floor, it is required to lay several hot water mats, forexample, four mats 1, on the floor as shown in FIG. 11. In FIG. 11,reference numeral 2 denotes a mat body, 2 a denotes width support bars,3 denotes a piping groove, and 4 denotes a hot water pipe.

However, when the four hot water mats 1 are laid on the floor asdescribed above, the number of U-shaped turning parts 4 b of the hotwater pipe 4 is increased and this results in an increase in pressureloss. Further, it is required to couple the hot water pipes 4 to eachother at the junctions between the hot water mats 1 and this increaseswork time and may cause leakage of water, and increases the number ofcoupling elements, such as joint couplings.

In an effort to solve the problems, a technique, in which two hot watermats instead of the four hot water mats 1 of FIG. 11 are used to coverthe floor, may be proposed. To realize this technique, each of the twohot water mats used in the technique may be configured as a long mat inwhich the width of each long mat remains the same as in each of the fourhot water mats 1, but the length of each long mat is increased to becomeequal to the sum of the lengths of two hot water mats 1. After producingthe long hot water mats, two long mats may be laid on the floor side byside so as to cover the floor, as shown in FIG. 12.

However, when the technique of the hot water mat 1 is used in the longmats of FIG. 12, the long mats are problematic in that the number ofstraight parts 4 a of the zigzag-shaped hot water pipe 4 is increasedand the length of the straight parts 4 a of the pipe 4 becomes short asillustrated in FIG. 12, thereby increasing the production cost. Anotherproblem of the long mats resides in that the number of U-shaped turningparts 4 b is increased and this causes an increase in the pressure lossof the hot water pipe 4. In FIG. 12 and FIG. 13, reference numeral 7denotes folding slits that are formed in the lower surface of the matbody 2 in parallel to the straight parts 4 a of the hot water pipe 4.

DISCLOSURE Technical Problem

Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind theabove problems occurring in the related art, and is intended to providea hot water mat which is configured as a long mat by reducing the widthof the mat and by increasing the length of the mat, with straight partsof a hot water pipe being laid in the directions of the length of themat and with a reduced number of U-shaped turning parts of the pipebeing used, so that a large-sized floor surface can be covered with aminimum number of mats, and which can be rolled so that the size of themat can be reduced thus allowing the mat to be moved using an elevatoror to be moved into a room in a rolled state.

Technical Solution

To accomplish the above-mentioned object, the invention disclosed inclaim 1 provides a long folding hot water mat for floor heating,including:

a. a long flat panel-shaped mat body;

b. a piping groove for a hot water pipe, the piping groove includingstraight groove parts formed lengthwise on an upper surface of the matbody, and U-shaped turning groove parts alternately connecting ends ofneighboring straight groove parts to each other, so that the pipinggroove forms a zigzag shape;

c. a hot water pipe laid in the piping groove and dissipating heat usinghot water flowing in the hot water pipe;

d. a heat dissipating sheet attached to the front surface of the matbody having the hot water pipe, thereby integrating the hot water pipewith the mat body into a single body; and

e. folding slits formed at regular intervals in a lower surface of themat body in directions perpendicular to straight parts of the hot waterpipe.

Further, the invention disclosed in claim 2 provides the long foldinghot water mat for floor heating as set forth in claim 1, wherein theslits formed in the lower surface of the mat body have a V-shaped,I-shaped or U-shaped cross-section.

Further, the invention disclosed in claim 3 provides the long foldinghot water mat for floor heating as set forth in claim 1, wherein theslits are formed to reach a predetermined depth into a thickness of themat body.

Further, the invention disclosed in claim 4 provides the long foldinghot water mat for floor heating as set forth in claim 1, wherein theslits are formed to a depth that cuts through an entire thickness of themat body.

Further, the invention disclosed in claim 5 provides the long foldinghot water mat for floor heating as set forth in claim 1, wherein theslits are formed in one mat body in a manner of a combination of slitsthat are formed to reach a predetermined depth and slits that are formedto a depth cutting through an entire thickness of the mat body.

Further, the invention disclosed in claim 6 provides the long foldinghot water mat for floor heating as set forth in claim 1, wherein the matbody is made of a foam body.

Further, the invention disclosed in claim 7 provides the long foldinghot water mat for floor heating as set forth in claim 1, wherein theheat dissipating sheet attached to the upper surface of the mat body ismade of a thin aluminum sheet.

Further, the invention disclosed in claim 8 provides the long foldinghot water mat for floor heating as set forth in claim 1, wherein thepiping groove formed in the mat body and the hot water pipe laid in thepiping groove are formed for one system or for plural systems in one matbody.

Further, the invention disclosed in claim 9 provides the long foldinghot water mat for floor heating as set forth in claim 1, wherein the hotwater mat can be rolled from a lengthwise end thereof, with the heatdissipating sheet being placed inward, due to the slits.

Further, the invention disclosed in claim 10 provides the long foldinghot water mat for floor heating as set forth in any one of claims 1 to9, wherein width support bars are inserted into the mat body atlocations between the slits so that the width support bars are inparallel to the slits, the width support bars having a thickness equalto a thickness of the mat body, with pipe seat grooves having a U-shapedcross-section being formed on a surface of each of the width supportbars at locations at which the hot water pipe crosses each of the widthsupport bars.

Advantageous Effects

As described above, the hot water mat of the present invention isconfigured to form a long shape, in which the straight parts of the hotwater pipe are laid lengthwise and the U-shaped turning parts of thepipe are laid at locations near the opposite ends of the mat.

Accordingly, the number of the straight parts of the pipe and the numberof the U-shaped turning parts of the pipe can be remarkably reduced incomparison with the hot water mat of FIG. 12 so that the presentinvention can remarkably reduce the production cost and pressure loss.

Further, due to the long straight parts of the hot water pipe, thelength of the heat dissipating tape that is attached to each of thestraight parts of the pipe and has the reversed O-shaped cross-sectioncan be increased, so that the coefficient of heat conduction from thehot water pipe to the heat dissipating sheet can be increased, therebyproviding a hot water mat having high efficiency.

Further, in the hot water mat, the slits are formed in directionsperpendicular to the direction of the length of the mat so that the hotwater mat can be rolled from an end thereof, with the heat dissipatingsheet being placed inward, thereby reducing the size of the mat.Accordingly, when a large-sized hot water mat having a width of 2.5 mand a length of 10˜15 m is rolled, the diameter of the rolled mat can belimited to a range of 60 cm˜80 cm, so that the rolled mat can be easilymoved using an elevator and can be easily moved into a room withoutdifficulty.

Further, the width support bars are inserted in parallel to the slits sothat the width support bars do not disturb the process of rolling thehot water mat.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a hot water mat related to the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line A-A′;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line B-B′;

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating the laying of the hot water mat of thepresent invention;

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a state in which the hot water mat of thepresent invention is rolled;

FIG. 6(A) to FIG. 6(D) are views illustrating the shape of slits;

FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating the hot water mat in which widthsupport bars are embedded;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line C-C′;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line D-D′;

FIG. 10 is a view illustrating an embodiment in which width support barsare alternately inserted into the hot water mat from opposite sides sothat the support bars reach respective intermediate positions and form astaggered arrangement;

FIG. 11 is a view illustrating the laying of a conventional hot watermat in a large-sized room;

FIG. 12 is a view illustrating a long hot water mat having conventionalpiping and slits; and

FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along line E-E′.

MODE FOR INVENTION

A hot water mat of the present invention is laid on the floor of a roomand heats the floor using heat from hot water of 60° C.˜80° C. thatcirculates through a hot water pipe laid in a mat body, thereby heatingthe room.

The mat body is made of a foam resin plate, in which a piping groove isformed on a surface of the foam resin plate and the hot water pipe thatis made of a resin material is laid in the piping groove.

After laying the hot water pipe in the mat body, a heat dissipatingsheet made of a thin aluminum sheet is attached to the surface of themat body. The heat dissipating sheet evenly distributes the heat fromthe hot water that circulates through the hot water pipe over the wholesurface of the hot water mat, thereby realizing uniformity of thetemperature of the floor.

Further, a heat transfer tape that has a reversed O-shaped cross-sectionand is made of a thin aluminum sheet is attached to the lower part ofeach straight part of the hot water pipe. The heat transfer tapetransfers heat of the peripheral surface of the lower part of the hotwater pipe that is laid in the piping groove to the heat dissipatingsheet, thereby improving heat efficiency. Here, the present inventionmay provide a hot water mat that has no heat transfer tape. Therefore,the present invention may be adapted to a hot water mat having the heattransfer tape or to a hot water mat having no heat transfer tape.

Further, the present invention may be adapted to hot water mats thathave no width support bars or have width support bars capable ofsupporting a floor material, such as a flooring. When the hot water matuses the width support bars, the width support bars cross straight partsof the hot water pipe so that pipe seat grooves having a U-shapedcross-section are formed in each of the width support bars at locationsat which the straight parts of the hot water pipe cross the widthsupport bar.

Slits that are formed in the lower surface of the hot water mat may beformed in such a way that the slits are formed to reach a depth thatreaches a desired distance into the thickness of the mat body or to cutthrough the entire thickness of the mat body. Alternatively, the slitsmay be formed in a manner of a combination of the above-mentioned twotypes of slits. Further, as the pitch of the slits is reduced, thediameter of the rolled hot water mat can be reduced. However, thereduction in the pitch of the slits may cause a reduction in thestrength of the mat body so that it is preferred that the pitch of theslits be determined to a range of 10˜25 cm. Here, it is required todetermine the pitch of the slits according to the size of the hot watermat.

The thickness of the mat body and the diameter of the hot water pipe arenot limited in the present invention. However, the practical dimensionsof the two elements are 12 mm as the thickness of the mat body and 10 mmas the diameter of the hot water pipe.

Embodiment 1

An embodiment, in which the present invention is adapted to a hot watermat having no width support bar, will be described in detail hereinbelowwith reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 6. In the drawings, reference numeral 1denotes the whole of a hot water mat, and reference numeral 2 denotes aplate-shaped mat body that is made by forming using foam resin, in whichthe width of the mat body 2 is determined as W=2.5 m, and the length ofthe mat body 2 is determined as L=10 m.

On the surface of the mat body 2, a piping groove 3 having a U-shapedcross-section is formed. The piping groove 3 includes straight grooveparts 3 a that are formed lengthwise on the mat body 2, and U-shapedturning groove parts 3 b that are formed at locations near the oppositeends 2 b of the mat body 2 so that the turning groove parts 3 balternately connect the ends of the neighboring straight groove parts 3a to each other.

Further, the piping groove 3 of FIG. 1 is shown as a piping groove forone system. However, the piping groove may be formed so that it is usedwith two or more systems that are more practically used in the field.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a hot water pipe that is laid in the pipinggroove 3. In the hot water pipe 4, hot water that has been produced by aheat source (not shown) circulates after being supplied through conduitsC, C′ and a header B, as shown in FIG. 4. Reference numeral 4 a denotesstraight parts of the hot water pipe 4, and reference numeral 4 bdenotes U-shaped turning parts of the hot water pipe 4. In FIG. 2 andFIG. 3, reference numeral 6 denotes a heat dissipating sheet that isattached to the mat body 2 so that the heat dissipating sheet can coverthe whole of the surface of the mat body 2.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 5 denotes a heat dissipating tape that ismade of a thin aluminum sheet and is attached to each straight part 4 aof the hot water pipe 4.

Reference numeral 7 denotes slits that are formed in the lower surfaceof the mat body 2 in a thickness direction of the mat body 2 so that theslits have a V-shaped cross-section. Here, the slits 7 extend in widthdirections of the mat body 2 (the directions perpendicular to thestraight parts 4 a of the hot water pipe 4) in parallel to each otherwith a pitch of 20 cm, as shown in FIG. 3.

Further, the shape of the slits 7 may be an I-shape as shown in FIG.6(A), a U-shape as shown in FIG. 6(B) or a shape that cuts the whole ofthe thickness of the mat body as shown in FIG. 6(C).

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 6(D), the slits may be formed by thecombination of the V-shaped, I-shaped or U-shaped slits 7 and the cutslits 7 of FIG. 6(C).

This combination of the shapes of the slits is caused by the fact that,when it is required to lay the mat bodies 2 on a very long surface, themat bodies 2 may be formed as one mat body 2 by connecting the matbodies 2 to each other in the direction of the length. In the abovestate, the connected junction of the mat bodies 2 forms a slit 7 thatcuts the whole of the thickness of the mat body 2.

Unlike an example of the use of the conventional hot water mat in whichfour mats are laid to cover the floor A of a large-sized room as shownin FIG. 11, the present invention can cover the floor A of thelarge-sized room by laying two hot water mats side by side on the floorA, as shown in FIG. 4. Of course, a room having a larger-sized floor mayrequire three or more hot water mats.

Further, to roll the hot water mat 1 so as to reduce the size of themat, the mat 1 can be rolled from an end thereof in a state in which theheat dissipating sheet 6 is directed inward and the slits 7 are directedoutward, as shown in FIG. 5. When the hot water mat 1 has beencompletely rolled, the diameter of the rolled mat 1 becomes 70 cm, andthe length of the rolled mat 1 becomes 2.5 m, so that the rolled mat 1having the above-mentioned dimensions can be easily moved using aconventional elevator and can be easily moved into a room withoutdifficulty.

Embodiment 2

This embodiment 2 provides a hot water mat that is embedded with widthsupport bars, as shown in FIG. 7 to FIG. 9.

The width support bars 10 are inserted into the mat body 2 in parallelto the slits 7.

Further, on the surface of each of the width support bars 10, pipe seatgrooves 11 having a U-shaped cross-section are formed so as to seat thehot water pipe 4 therein, as shown in FIG. 9.

Further, in this embodiment, the width support bars 10 are embedded insuch a way that one width support bar 10 is placed between neighboringtwo slits 7. However, it should be understood that the width supportbars 10 may be placed by skipping over two or more slits 7.

When the width support bars 10 are installed in the mat body 2, the matbody 2 is divided into pieces by the width support bars 10. However, thepieces of the mat body 2 are integrated into a single body by the heatdissipating sheet so that the mat body 2 does not remain in the dividedstate.

Further, to prevent the mat body 2 from being divided into pieces by thewidth support bars 10, it is preferred that the width support bars 10are alternately inserted into the mat body 2 from opposite sides of themat body so that the front ends 12 of the support bars 10 reachrespective depths without completely crossing the mat body 2 and,accordingly, the mat body 2 can remain as a continuous body, as shown inFIG. 10.

In FIG. 7 to FIG. 11, the same reference numerals as in the embodiment 1denote the same elements and further explanation is thus omitted toavoid repetitive explanation.

1. A long folding hot water mat for floor heating, comprising: a. a longflat panel-shaped mat body; b. a piping groove for a hot water pipe, thepiping groove including straight groove parts formed lengthwise on anupper surface of the mat body, and U-shaped turning groove partsalternately connecting ends of neighboring straight groove parts to eachother, so that the piping groove forms a zigzag shape; c. a hot waterpipe laid in the piping groove and dissipating heat using hot waterflowing in the hot water pipe; d. a heat dissipating sheet attached tothe front surface of the mat body having the hot water pipe, therebyintegrating the hot water pipe with the mat body into a single body; ande. folding slits formed at regular intervals in a lower surface of themat body in directions perpendicular to straight parts of the hot waterpipe.
 2. The long folding hot water mat for floor heating as set forthin claim 1, wherein the slits formed in the lower surface of the matbody have a V-shaped, I-shaped or U-shaped cross-section.
 3. The longfolding hot water mat for floor heating as set forth in claim 1, whereinthe slits are formed to reach a predetermined depth into a thickness ofthe mat body.
 4. The long folding hot water mat for floor heating as setforth in claim 1, wherein the slits are formed to a depth that cutsthrough an entire thickness of the mat body.
 5. The long folding hotwater mat for floor heating as set forth in claim 1, wherein the slitsare formed in one mat body in a manner of a combination of slits thatare formed to reach a predetermined depth and slits that are formed to adepth cutting through an entire thickness of the mat body.
 6. The longfolding hot water mat for floor heating as set forth in claim 1, whereinthe mat body is made of a foam body.
 7. The long folding hot water matfor floor heating as set forth in claim 1, wherein the heat dissipatingsheet attached to the upper surface of the mat body is made of a thinaluminum sheet.
 8. The long folding hot water mat for floor heating asset forth in claim 1, wherein the piping groove formed in the mat bodyand the hot water pipe laid in the piping groove are formed for onesystem or for plural systems in one mat body.
 9. The long folding hotwater mat for floor heating as set forth in claim 1, wherein the hotwater mat can be rolled from a lengthwise end thereof, with the heatdissipating sheet being placed inward, due to the slits.
 10. The longfolding hot water mat for floor heating as set forth in claim 1, whereinwidth support bars are inserted into the mat body at locations betweenthe slits so that the width support bars are in parallel to the slits,the width support bars having a thickness equal to a thickness of themat body, with pipe seat grooves having a U-shaped cross-section beingformed on a surface of each of the width support bars at locations atwhich the hot water pipe crosses each of the width support bars.